Here are your Puck Headlines: a glorious collection of news and views collected from the greatest blogosphere in sports and the few, the proud, the mainstream hockey media.

• This 16-year-old has finally figured out a way to end the lockout: With $2.99 rubber bracelets. Live Strong my friend! [Vancouver Sun]

• If Don Cherry was betting, he'd say we won't have a season. And he's tired of Gary Bettman getting the brunt of the criticism: "[The owners] had a vote at the start… 30 said yes [to the] lockout. It wasn't Bettman. If they had said no lockout, there wouldn't have been a lockout. He's the guy everybody goes after, it's ridiculous. If 20 owners walked up to him right now and said 'we're going back,' they'd go back." [CBC]

• Dustin Brown finally agrees to head overseas to play for the ZSC Lions, a team that his former Los Angeles Kings bench boss Marc Crawford coaches. Brown had his best offensive season in the NHL under the Crow. [Mayors Manor]

• B.J. Crombeen of the Tampa Bay Lightning on the CBA talks: "It's something you hope the switch turns and they actually begin to negotiate and begin to talk,"  he said. "I personally don't think it's a major gap. It's not like that last time when there was a salary cap coming. There's obviously differences, there's some things, but I'm fairly certain if they were wiling to negotiate something could get done fairly quickly. So, it's something where you try to hang on that hope, and hope it finally clocks with them, and they realize everyone wants the game to get back and get back quickly." [Lightning Strikes]

• Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk thinks the lockout should be over and we should be playing hockey. Who's to blame? Eh, everyone. [Sportsnet]

• Kevin Allen on the Classic: "The pending cancellation of the Winter Classic should be a reminder that we are much closer to the season blowing up than was anticipated in the summer. Players undoubtedly are going to say the league's decision to cancel the game constitutes scare tactics aimed at destabilizing their resolve. Regardless of whether that's true, the reality is that we are now on a countdown toward losing the entire season for the second time in less than a decade." [USA Today]

@letsgomurphys"Aye, what realm is this thou hath tumbled into? The South of Boston? What time doth the calendar speak for this moon cycle? October 31 to you mortals; the Ween of Hallows to Asgardians.

"It is thus I must disguise myself, so as not to cull curiosity that Thor Odinson is on Earth, traveling from kingdom to kingdom in search of mead and miniature Fingers of Butter. What form might I choose to reject — nay, repel — those who'd wish to approach the God of Thunder?

"Ah yes: The form of a rapscallion pest. The Loki of the National Ice Hockey Legion. Brad Marchand of the Bruins of Boston.

@jaee_owens"Behold!

"Even my ally the Man of Spider recognizeth me not in this form, despite our both being owned by the Comics of Marvel, which now owneth Willow Ufgood. This memory was captured moments before I delivered a check of the hip to the young hero for his vain attempt to pilfer my Reese's Cup. As the great, Asgardian giant Zdeno, whom we banished to roam the universe due to his tendency to eat infants, might sayeth: 'Puny Human.'

"Now, if you'll excuse me, there's an Earthling wearing the crest of the Canucks of Vancouver o'er yonder, and I must introduce him to Mjolnir …"

(Thanks to reader Maureen O'Brien for informing us that Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand "was trick or treating here in South Boston last night dressed as Thor, and possibly had dressed his dog as Superman." She believes there are some jokes to be had here, but we don't see what's funny about Marchand's nose possibly replacing the destroyed Bridge to Asgard ... )

Photos by @letsgomuprhys and @jaee_owens

Getty ImagesThere's going to be a protest when the NHL returns. That much is certain. It may be signs or booing or empty seats. It may be something social media helps organize and formalize: Fans "locking out" arena concessions or official merchandise or banding together to boycott the opening week of games.

I'm not a believer in a massive, season-long boycott. Getting hockey fans organized for something that massive would be like herding a roomful of cats on a Red Bull bender. (The cats are the Red Bull. Not us. Red Bull is the magic elixir for proper cat herding. I read that on Wikipedia.)

Besides, hockey's our crack rock and we can only put down the pipe for so long.

That said: There are, and will be, fans that don't come back. And what the NHL and its players are completely, baffling, extraordinarily ignorant about is how easy it'll be for them to walk away from the game, and how their apathy will serve as an example for others that are on the fence.

The News & Observer has a piece on Thursday that deals with Carolina Hurricanes fans that have cancelled their season tickets. There aren't many, but some of the voices in this story are from the franchise's early years. They're die hards; and they've had enough.

Hockey photo via http://owenbradley.wordpress.comIf a pro hockey team features three goaltenders in a single game, chances are it's the exhibition season or you're watching All-Star Weekend or there's been some level of injury catastrophe that's forced your fourth line plug that played between the pipes back in youth hockey to don the pads.

[Also: Jaromir Jagr's tennis kiss-off caught on camera]

The Nottingham Panthers of the UK's Elite Ice Hockey League faced that last bit of adversity against the Edinburgh Capitals this week. But they were prepared for it, and may have made some hockey history in the process.

According to the Nottingham Post, the team's starting goalie Craig Kowalski — a former AHLer, drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2000 — was scheduled to play one period before returning home to be with his wife for "personal reasons." So the team had back-up netminder Dan Green ready to play the final 40 minutes, with an 18-year-old named Sam Gospel in the wings as an emergency backup.

With five minutes left in the game, there was an emergency: Green had to leave due to injury. So in a time of despair, Nottingham did what so many of us would do: They turned to the Gospel.

The young goalie closed out the game, and Nottingham achieved the rarest of hockey feats: Three goaltenders, combining to pitch a 34-save shutout in a 10-0 win over Edinburgh.

[More: P.K. Subban's entertaining turn as TV weatherman]

"We thought it might be a record," said coach Corey Neilson on Panthers TV after the game. "I don't know if that's ever been done."

Now it has been … but how was it legal?

Getty ImagesThe prevailing wisdom in hockey circles is that the owners aren't in total agreement on the lockout.

That some might see the work stoppage as a vital fight to ensure the financial viability of the NHL going forward. Others might see getting back on the ice as more important than quibbling over percentages of HRR.

The tricky part is that every owner in the NHL has competing motivations. The Nashville Predators, for example, are a team that dabbled in contracts that went longer than the proposed term-limits would have allowed and clearly see a benefit in playing as soon as possible — what with the momentum in the market and all.

Yet at the same time, they're one of those franchises that would want to see a 50/50 revenue split (or better) for the betterment of their financial standing.

[Also: Hockeytown takes big hit if Winter Classic canceled]

Hence, it gets confusing as to which owners want to play and which ones have Gary Bettman's back. Elliotte Friedman, in a brilliant column on the parallels between the NBA and NHL lockouts, offers an ownership scouting report:

The commish has three groups of owners: the ones who want to play; the ones in the middle, including Tampa and Nashville, who want a better collective bargaining agreement but recognize not playing is worse; and the hardliners. It would be a mistake to underestimate the last group. There are several who would rather cancel the season than accept a bad deal because they are hemorrhaging money and need immediate satisfaction.

While the players believe Boston Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs is calling the shots, an educated guess at the final group includes but may not be limited to Anaheim, Columbus, Florida, the Islanders, Phoenix, St. Louis, Washington and Dallas -- enough to block any agreement from getting done (It's tough to lock it down because owners are forbidden to discuss this stuff. Attempts to talk to a couple were politely shot down).

As Friedman wrote: "This group is the biggest challenge for both the commissioner and the players."

Getty ImagesThe Buffalo Sabres have a really cool new addition to First Niagara Center called Alumni Plaza, which in keeping with the traditions of Pegulaville honors the Sabres' greatest hockey legends. It includes a "mural of all-time greats that extends across the walking bridge above the plaza," according to the Buffalo News.

Legends like Maxim Afinogenov.

Yes, Maxim Afinogenov, that riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a puzzle wrapped in moments of offensive brilliance wrapped in questionable injuries. He made the cut. According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, Dale Hawerchuk, Miroslav Satan, Don Luce and Rob Ray did not.

Dale … Hawerchuk. Let that sink in.

Vogl tries to make sense of it all:

On one hand, there's a case to be made for Afinogenov. He spent nine seasons with the Sabres. He ranks 18th in team scoring with 334 points, including 200 assists. He was popular among fans, with his jersey ranking among the league leaders in sales during the rush to the registers from 2005 to 2007.

Then again, Afinogenov's time in Buffalo is almost equally as notable for the down times. He slumped while refusing to play a team game. He suffered mysterious concussions. He was run out of town after totaling only 16 goals during his last two seasons.

Determining who should or should not be on an alumni monument is akin to the "ring of honor" and retired number debates: Non-Sabres fans can parachute in, be all "what the what?" and get slack-jawed over a perceived snub.

So we'll leave it to the Sabres fans in the readership: Do you want Maxim Afinogenov on that wall? Do you need Maxim Afinogenov on that wall?

s/t PHT

It's a Wednesday edition of Marek vs. Wyshynski beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT, and we're talking about the following and more:

Special Guest Stars: Super special big time guest! Derek Sanderson, Boston Bruins legend, joins us to talk hockey and the life of a playboy.

• What are we really missing if and when the Winter Classic is cancelled.

• Tyler Bozak's Michael Jackson costume flap.

Question of the Day: Which NHL'ers face would make the scariest Halloween mask?

Email your answers to jeff.marek@sportsnet.ca or tweet them with the hashtag #MvsW to @jeffmarek.

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With all the focus on the Winter Classic and regular-season games being cancelled, the fate of the NHL All-Star Game has been, well, slightly overlooked. In the way that a library closing is overlooked in a hurricane, for example.

[Related: Hockeytown takes big hit if Winter Classic canceled]

As of last week, the 2013 All-Star Game in Columbus was safe, as deputy commissioner Bill Daly told the Dispatch that the cancellation of the game was "not imminent." This is in stark contrast with the chatter around the Winter Classic, which has been formally given soft deadlines for cancellation and is expected to get the axe this week.

This is the difference between being the jewel of the NHL's regular season and being an event in which many star players don't want to participate and that many fans see as a superfluous, often tedious waste of time. Outrage over the cancellation of the NHL All-Star Game in 2013 likely rivals that of a letter writing campaign to get the Yule Log back on TV for Christmas Eve.

That said: It means something to some hockey fans. Namely the ones in the cities that host the games.

If you've never been to one, it transforms sections of the host sites into hockey heaven: Giant fan fests, community events, banners, signs, a sense of celebration about the Game. Not to mention the in-arena experience, which is exponentially more memorable than watching the going-through-the-motions on TV.

[Nick Cotsonika: Pavel Datsyuk's wisdom, whimsy & wizardry on display in KHL]

All of this would have been bestowed upon Columbus, which is a hockey town that could use some streamers and balloons these days.

"Knowing the great fans that are here in Columbus, we're looking forward to what we know will be a great event," said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman when the Columbus Blue Jackets were handed the 2013 All-Star Game.

The Winter Classic, one assumes, will be played in Ann Arbor the next time it's played. The NHL should live up to its hype regarding Columbus, and vow to return the All-Star Game to the city the next time one is held, even as it cancels the 2013 edition.